Almost Human
by KadenKryptonite
Summary: When Danny is kidnapped by his evil self, he must find a way to deal with the sadistic man who has seemed to develop perverted narcissistic feelings for the halfa. Giving in has never seemed like such a terrifying prospect before. Haunted Past.
1. Black Isn't a Color, but Blue is

_Chapter One (Prologue): __Black isn't a Color, but Blue is._

**I wanted to try my hand at a Haunted Past story, so enjoy this small prologue. It's about two pages where as my normal chapters are normally five-seven pages, give or take depending on content.****  
><strong>**I'm going to be exploring Dan's sadistic and narcissistic personality; at times it may get a bit dark due to this- in physical violence and sexual situations, but I'll also be going into Dan's weaker moments when he's a bit more like Danny.****I avoid writing character death like the plague, so that will most likely not find its way in here. I try not to be too graphic, but *shrugs* whatcha gonna do?**

**Also, this shouldn't be necessary but:**

**Pairing(s): **Haunted Past. Yep, that's it. Possible/implied Meddling Minutes.

**There's my disclaimer; now go on if you clicked on this link for that yummy stuff. Review and tell me what you think.**

Danny's head shot up off the solid concrete, at a speed which proved to send spikes of sharp pain throughout his forehead. He cautiously rolled himself over, realizing he wasn't lying on concrete at all; it was actually a large- and comfortable- bed draped in black, devoid of any color.

_Why is it so uncomfortable to me then?_ Danny thought warily and struggled to remember where he was.

He gasped in recollection and a touch of pain as memories came flooding back. His ghost sense. Fire. Screams. _Blood._ Himself- no wait, it wasn't him. Sam yelling, _"Danny, it's your jerk-self!"_

Dark Phantom. Danny's thoughts concluded. _I must've blacked out- after fighting him?_ He looked around again, looking for any bits of information to confirm his suspicions.

Not receiving anything helpful except for the fact, Dark didn't like color. This room made Danny feel as if he was color blind. _Black and white, there are no colors._ A line from a poem rang out in his mind, although he had no idea who it was by or why he had suddenly remembered it as if it was important.

He swung his legs over the bed, realizing he wasn't in his ghost form. Not wanting to feel unprotected, he switched forms, welcoming the tingly feeling as Fenton became Phantom. Catching his reflection in a lone mirror on the wall, he realized his clothes were shredded. Not enough to be a discomfort, but enough where he was going to later have to find out if Phantom can wardrobe change.

He stalked over to the grand black doors, and not spying a doorknob, he gave them a push. Nothing. Trying to phase through them didn't work either. _Is it possible I'm in the ghost zone?_ Danny considered the option, attempting to phase through them as a human. Feeling a rush of victory, he started to go through the dark wood.

He could only cry out as he felt something push back, roughly forcing him back into the room.

"I wouldn't bother if I were you. Human-proofed." Letting a ring of white light turn him back into Phantom, Danny spun around to face the man who brought him here. A man he could've sworn was not in this room two minutes ago. "I bet Walker would just _die_ to get his hand on this technology."

"You." Danny said, lacking any more expressive words in this situation which seemed to be the opposite one might suspect of the boy.

"Me." The Dark Phantom agreed. "Oh, I almost forgot how articulate I was at this age." The Phantom stalked forward, making his younger self back up an equal amount of steps.

It was strange. He defeated this monster once, but something in how the man was acting unnerved him: the kidnapping, this bedroom, the almost laid back form of communication.

Are you frightened, Danny? Dark's eyes seemed to ask.

_No!_

_Yes._

"What's your game Dark?" Danny asked, cornering himself against a wall and bunching a fist. The cornered dog is always the one to lash out and bite, but the silent one is the deadly one. Fangs drawn and at the ready.

He smirked. It wasn't a Plasmius smirk, and it wasn't Danny's grin; it was something much more primitive. "Game? I don't have a game. I'm just going to break you. Slowly and painfully." He announced flippantly as he moved forward until his larger body towered over the younger boy. Leaning forward to snap into the halfa's ear, "And I'm going to make you like it, Danny boy."

"What?" Danny snapped, sliding out from under where Dark remained towered over him. "I'm not a masochist, you bastard."

Grabbing the younger boy's wrists, he pinned them up against the wall. Danny thrashed, trying to get the man to release him although a sharp knee to the gut dealt with that nicely. Dark leaned his head down and stole Danny's lips with his own. The boy's wild thrashes began again.

"Wha-!" he began, throwing his legs and trying to pull his arms down, anything to get the psychotic man off of him. It didn't occur to the boy to use his ghost rays.

Biting down on Danny's lower lip caused the boy to gasp out in pain, and Dark cleverly seized the opportunity to force his forked tongue into the younger halfa's mouth.

Danny's eyes shot open as wide as they could go. No, no, no! This couldn't be happening. It's just the wrong kind of sick, so he panickedly did the one thing that came to mind in this situation. He bit down. Hard.

Naturally, the Phantom withdrew swiftly, backhanding the boy as he did so.

Daniel spat bloody saliva from his mouth, barely stopping himself from reflexively gagging. The salty copper taste was unpleasant and only served to remind him of what Dark just did… what Dark just did _to_ him.

"You're really going to regret that, Danny boy." Dark growled, grabbing the boy by his throat and whipping him across the room. The halfa crashed into the back wall, head first naturally.

As quickly as the shock from being thrown and the collision was gone, Danny was on his feet, his body preparing to fight or if necessary, run.

"You see, you may not be a masochist, but you'll come to find that like pain- _your_ pain-, and I really like to be the one to cause it."

Danny raised an eyebrow, the pain in his head intensifying. "Isn't that called 'sadism'?"

"Ah, but you see, I am a sadist." Dark stated bluntly while picking at the edge of his finger nail.

Dark turned on his heel to exit the room. His mouth, too, tasted like ectoplasm; even _he_ didn't like that taste, else he would really have stayed longer and made Danny actually regret hurting him.

Ignoring the discomfort building in the back of his skull, Danny opened his mouth to speak, but the other ghost teleported himself away before the words could even make their way out. A quip about how the room could use more color probably wouldn't have been a very good insult in this situation anyway.

Danny rubbed the back of his head. He'd never been thrown that hard, and his ghost self had never hurt this much after taking a blow- not even by Vlad who often loved to throw him by his neck during their fights.

The boy made his way to the white doors that hopefully lead to a bathroom. Sure enough, his hopes were note faulty. Danny proceeded to curl into a little defensive ball and pass out- whether from pain, exhaustion, anxiety or just stress, it wasn't certain.


	2. My Hands Need to be Reacquainted

Well, hello again. Fast update; don't get used to it. I had desires to write more~ But unfortunately, you will get no more of this story until the next chapter of "Inevitable" is up. (Motivation~) If you're curious about how I'm coming along with updates, visit my DeviantART account, _TransparentlyHere_.

Anyway, you enjoy this new chapter that only has a small amount of fan service in it. *cough* I apologize in advance if it's not tasty enough yet for some of you perverts. If you have any suggestions of things you'd like to see in this story, message me. If I see any good ideas, they might just sneak their way in.  
>Reviews are the marshmallows to my flames.<p>

"_Danny it's your jerk-self!" Sam had called out to him as Fenton Works caught fire._

_The boy whipped his head around, in the direction Sam had yelled from. Where is she? Why couldn't he see her? "Sam?" He called out nervously, already having changed into his ghost form to resist the flames and other hazards._

"_Danny!" A girl's voice called out frantically, although this time it didn't quite sound like his best friend._

"_Jazz?" He asked warily, turning to face the girl with long red hair, orange-red hair which was singed on the ends from the fire._

"_Danny, there you are! You have to get out of the house." Jazz began frantically, coughing as the smoke filled her lungs. "I already got mom and dad out."_

_Danny looked around, a small portion of his anxiety lifted now that he knew his parents were safe and Jazz more or less seemed okay. "Jazz, I need to find Sam. I think-" a deep breath, the smoke taking no effect on his ghost self- or at least not enough of an effect to be noticeable yet, "Dark's back."_

"_Dark? You don't mean that evil you from the alternate timeline." She sounded frightened. Jazz had never told him exactly what Dark had done or said to her when he trapped Danny in the future._

"_Yeah, him. I heard Sam say he's here. He could be hurting her Jazz! I can't just wait around." _

_Jazz placed a hand over Danny's arm. "Danny, Sam isn't here."_

_Danny barely had time to register what his older sister had just told him as a voice called out. "Danny, help!"_

_Danny grabbed Jazz and turned intangible, going through falling debris and flames. It didn't matter; in their current state, it was impossible to feel anything except the radiating heat from the inferno. Through the house, he dropped Jazz out on the front path, leaving her safely outside the disaster._

"_Wait!" Jazz called, but it was too late. The Phantom flew straight back into the house. Flames now blocked the doorway, preventing Jazz from stubbornly reentering their house to help her brother._

"_Sam! Sam! Where are you?" Danny called, searching room to blazing room._

"_Danny, help." A voice called out meekly followed by an ungodly creepy laughter._

"_Sam?"_

_The phantom took two steps towards the door to the guest bedroom where he heard the noise coming from. It had gotten eerily quiet after the laughing had stopped. The only sounds now were the crackling flames and occasional crashes as something else fell or broke._

_As he reached up to push open the door which had not caught fire, he felt two large hands on his sides, directly above his hips. Danny tried to pull away as many strong bolts were coursed through his body, making him emit a strange glow as he lost power and turned human._

"_No, it's only me." A dark voice cooed as the young boy lost consciousness._

Danny shot up in bed. What an odd dream? Sugar before bed really _was_ bad; he concluded stretching his arms out and yawning. Swinging his legs out of bed, he pulled the black down comforter off his legs.

Wait a minute. _Black_ comforter? Danny could've sworn his was blue as was everything in his room.

Jumping up off the mattress, he paced towards the mirror, not recognizing the room he was in. His reflection was startling; snow white hair and green eyes informed him he slept in his ghost form, something he'd never tried before. His jumpsuit was still torn, and his face revealed the truth. Flecks of purple and sickly green across his cheekbone sent the memories flooding back.

Dark had kidnapped him and then molested his mouth. He dry heaved, having nothing in his stomach to actually come up.

Shortly after the man left, Danny remembered curling up on the floor in the master bathroom attached to his bedroom. He didn't want to go near that bed, Dark most likely _sleeps_ in it. Although that didn't explain how Danny had woken up in the bed anyway.

_Oh god. Oh god._ He'd been in the room while Danny was asleep. _He touched me while I was asleep! I wonder what else he did. _What sort of things had his evil self done while the halfa had been unconscious?

He wandered into the bathroom to take a look at it as he hadn't done so because of trauma the night before. It was a startling contrast to Dark's black room; the tiles were white and almost glowing while the walls were a bright white as well. It was a brilliant pearl color unlike the off-white most people have in their bathrooms.

The shower curtain was black naturally, as were the rugs and towels hanging on the wall opposite the toilet. Almost as if noticing the toilet for the first time, he cautiously wandered over to actually use it. As the boy couldn't remember the last time he'd peed.

After that was done, he washed his hands and face in the marble sink, enjoying how the cool water made him feel a tad less disgusting. Reaching over to grab a hand towel, Danny caught the reflection of the door behind him. A black shape made him spin on his heels in a panic only to realize what he'd seen was an outfit hanging on the back of the door.

Taking in the petite stature of the clothing, he figured they were meant for him. Glancing down at his own ripped outfit, he concluded it was an outfit meant for Phantom. Danny smirked to himself; in a small act of rebellion, he switched forms to Fenton- his clothes were perfectly fine.

Unlatching the door which he locked upon entering, he stepped back into the bedroom. Sighing and not exactly quite sure what to do- he was sure that there was no way out of the room- besides wait around for his kidnapper who was probably still pissed at him to show up, he resigned himself to plopping on the leather loveseat at the end of the bed.

"Bored already?" A voice behind him began.

_Aaack! _Danny almost fell off the couch. "Would you stop that?"

"Stop what?" The phantom asked, sitting cross-legged on his bed on top of Danny's disheveled blankets.

"Stop just appearing in here!" Danny yelled, clearly frustrated.

Dark crawled forward on the bed towards his younger self. This time Danny did fall off the couch, making Phantom laugh and scowl in annoyance at the same time. "Would you rather I came in the door? Perhaps leave it open for you?"

_Yes._

"That'd be quite nice if you'd like to do that."

"Shame. I'm not nice." Dark dismissed him passively. Suddenly, he was gone, and in the next moment, behind Danny, pulling the hybrid to his feet. And once again, he was gone. Only to appear again, tossing Danny a bundle of fabric. "Put them on."

"I don't want to."

"I don't recall asking if you wanted to or not." Dan growled, thrusting the clothes at the boy, smashing them against his chest.

Danny flung them away onto the couch. "No."

"No?" Dan asked, grabbing his wrists tightly.

"Ou-ouch! That hurts you asshole!" Danny yelped as Dark's hands moved lower, gripping the hem of Danny's shirt. Hastily jerking the white fabric up until about half the boy's slim torso was revealed, Dark smirked to himself. "What- no, stop!" Danny yelled, trying to shrug back into the shirt rather unsuccessfully.

"I asked you to put on your clothes; you refused, so I'm making you." Dark shrugged.

"I'll do it myself. Jeez!" Danny snapped grabbing the clothes and beginning to retreat towards the bathroom only to be stopped by Dark's grasp again.

He eyed the boy. "In here. We're both men; men don't change in bathrooms."

"They do if you're in the room." Danny mumbled, turning around and pulling his shirt off.

"Phantom." Dark said.

"What?" Danny snapped, clutching the black clothes to his chest.

"Those are clothes for Phantom, so you should be in your ghost form." Is all he said in response.

The halfa transformed into his ghost as requested. Pulling the jumpsuit off and quickly pulling on his new wardrobe. He was now wearing a black tight fitting sleeveless shirt and very loose black cargo pants. And by loose, he meant if he moved too quickly without grasping the waistline, they'd most likely fall down. Although, they showed off the tops of his bony hips fairly well.

_Well, at least my logo is still there._ And he still had his white gloves and boots.

Danny turned, glaring at the older ghost who was sprawled at on the couch in a Cheshire cat sort of way. "Happy?"

"For the time being." He said. "Now come here." He held his hands out as if he wanted to hold the boy.

Danny took a few steps forward, in grabbing reach of the Phantom. No use denying the simple request, Dark would certainly get up and force him over if wanted.

Dark placed his hands above his hips as he had done when electrocuting him the day before. Instead of pulling him down or hurting him as Danny suspected he would, the ghost ran his hands down over his hips all the way to his knees in a tantalizingly slow pace. "H-hey!" Danny yelped, trying to jump back. Only to be stopped by claws digging into his hips. Oh god, it hurt.

"Don't move." Dan commanded, running his hands down the front of Danny's chest this time.

"What are you doing?" Danny asked, desiring nothing more than to be able to back up. Anything to put distance between the two.

"It's been a long time since I had your body; I'm reacquainting myself with it."

Before Danny had time to say something insulting, a low rumble bordering on a growl interrupted him.

"Did you just growl?" Dark asked, eyebrow raised. A grin creeping its way onto his face.

"N-no!" Danny shouted halfheartedly; his face was flushed a light red.

The man jabbed his stomach, earning another rumble. "You're hungry." He stated bluntly, not even bothering with a question. He rose off the couch, grabbing Danny's wrist as he did so. "Let's go."

"Go where?" The boy humored him, following Dark's tug towards the towering black door. Actually daring to wonder what the world outside the bedroom looked like.

Dan raised an eyebrow skeptically. "To eat of course."


	3. It Couldn't Be a Guarantee

_Here we go. I hope you guys like this one; I put some more effort into it. Sorry if the ending is a bit abrupt. I feel I can write that scene better in the beginning of a new chapter instead of at the end. Suggestions? Comments?_

Ack. Danny felt nauseous, having just been transported by Dan outside of the bedchamber to a fairly large kitchen. White tiles, and black appliances gave the boy the feeling of the bathroom. It was lacking color although the kitchen possessed more hues due to random foods being sprawled about messily on the counters. Miscellaneous chip brands, prepackaged cookies- the kind with the main ingredient of sugar instead of flower, a few sugary cereals, cans of presumably empty soda- none of which was diet.

Dark had released his hold on the boy- not noticing his sway, or perhaps not caring. Swinging the fridge door open, he left it there moving to open all of the black cabinets to reveal the stock of even more junk food. Lays, Pringles, Kellogg's, Pepperidge Farms, and Coke. With a start, Danny realized they were all _his_ favorite brands.

Opening the last cabinet, Dan turned to him. "What do you want? We've got Kraft, frozen pizza, microwavable burgers, cookie dough, nachos, hotdogs…" He went on rambling all of the possible meal options while the boy contemplated.

In all reality, Danny had stopped listening at 'We've'; it shocked him on how fast the ghost had begun referring to his house as _theirs_. The future looked bleak. _I guess this means he really doesn't plan on letting me go._ He realized with a start, how depressing his future now appeared to be.

His over enthusiastic dream of being an astronaut, his future with Sam- how far they hadn't gotten, his friends and family, his solid future of being Phantom. _Well, at least I still have that future set in stone; it's not like Dark's letting me be anything but Phantom at this point._ He thought bitterly, wondering when he was going to get it over with and just kill him instead of catering to him.

"You can cook?" Danny asked, pulling himself up onto a black barstool. Letting his head rest on his folded arms, he glared at Dan, waiting for an answer. He didn't need that much of his brain to know what the answer would be.

"Do you?" He grinned, grabbing a handful of barbeque chips from the bag, shoving a few into his mouth. The boy across the kitchen island from him only glared not wanting to indulge the man's useless banter. The only response was an extended hand directed towards the chips; Danny always had had a weakness for chips.

"What do you say?" Dan asked, slowly extending the Lay's bag out to his hand, in a mockingly slow pace.

Danny glared. "Fuck you."

"Well, I was planning on waiting just a bit longer and feeding you first, but if you really want to," Dan glanced around, shuffling some of the foods into different areas, "I suppose I can clean off the counters a bit."

Head shooting up off his arms, Danny paled as he almost fell over backwards onto the cold floor. "What?" He croaked, sound barely leaking from his mouth. "That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

"You're no fun." Dark pouted sarcastically. "Where's Fun Danny when you need him? When he comes out, I have dibs."

"I have dibs on Super Danny kicking your ass to the next millennium." Danny mumbled, grabbing some chips Dark had abandoned when moving other foods off the counter. Munching on those quietly, he had nothing else to say to the man.

Dark Phantom laughed a chilling sound that didn't quite sound amused. "Super Danny couldn't claw his way out of a wet paper bag if you forgive the mundane expression."

Danny slipped a smile, albeit a tiny one for he knew Dark spoke the truth. Super and his bed sheet wasn't the brightest or most threatening super hero there was- even if his poses played the part. Hell, even Technus wasn't afraid of him- even taking potshots at the ghost's behavior.

Taking his smile as an entrance, he continued. "So, you haven't answered my question." And there goes the smile. "What do you want?"

That was simple. "To go home." It was a long shot, but a chance Danny couldn't resist; he wasn't going to go along easily. What he didn't know was that Dark prefers the hard way; he always had.

Dark tsk'd at the poor attempt. "I was thinking more along the lines of food." He pointed to all the wide-open cabinets and the fridge which must've been using up a severe amount of electricity as Danny knew from the time he accidently left the fridge open at home and his mother made him pay the electricity bill. He still can't even remember how he earned all that money.

"Not hungry." He mumbled, head back in its position on top of crossed arms.

Dan growled. "It was _your_ stomach that growled, not mine."

"Probably because you're so boring, even my stomach is bored. It doesn't mean I'm hungry." Danny mumbled into his arms, partially blocking his words.

"I'm boring? Let's see what I can do to change that; although, you probably won't like what 'fun' I have in mind." Dark said darkly, the irony of it all was immense. Watching Danny's head shoot up, in fear of something else entirely, the ghost gripped the boy's chin and forcibly kissed him, sliding his own tongue into the boy's unwilling mouth which tasted strongly of powdered barbeque, Dan thought fondly. He assumed his own mouth tasted the same; a mirror image even down to taste, he could fool himself into thinking the boy he was forcing himself onto was truly himself, if he ignored their obvious difference in appearance.

It was a new twist on narcissism, but then again Dan didn't mind. What's another sin on top of his countless lists? He's got the main ones in the bag already: Greed, Wrath, Pride, Gluttony, _Lust_.

Danny remained still under him. Not stopping him, not participating in the sinful kiss. Just willing it to be over with before his empty stomach decided it wasn't empty enough not to vomit.

It seemed like ages to the boy, but Dark pulled away. Not saying anything, he turned to the fridge grabbing two Mountain Dews from the top shelf. He'd already consumed a tragic amount of Coke the past week; he figured if he'd been human, his teeth would've rotten out of his skull by now.

Eagerly Danny grabbed the can, popping the lid and taking the first few sickly sweet gulps to get the taste of Dark out of his mouth. His fourth sip he swashed around his teeth, letting it stick to anywhere it hadn't already reached. Somewhere his dentist must've been feeling discomforted.

His stomach rumbled as he filled it with soda instead of digestive material needed to make a happy quiet tummy.

"Still bored? There are other activities I can imagine. I'm very imaginative." Dan cocked his head, waiting the boy's frantic response.

"N-no!" Danny shouted, resting a hand on his stomach. "I think I'm actually hungry. Just make something; you know what I like." He hated to admit it, but he hated not being able to admit it to himself; Dark did know him just as well if not better than he knew himself. He had Danny's mind and memories, and naturally Vlad's keen observation skills were there too.

Dark scooted over to the farther cabinet and grabbed three- to be safe- boxes of Kraft. It was the original extra cheesy type. They both agreed the shapes were better, but they never made as much as the normal macaroni did.

Danny raised a timid eyebrow at his choice which Dark easily caught- those observation skills in motion. "What? I had a craving." He defended his choice and put a silver pot on the stove, pouring water into it.

_Funny, so did I. _Danny thought, watching Dark stare at the water as if willing it to boil faster. _A watched pot never boils, Dark. Didn't your mother ever tell you that? Oh, that's right; she _had_._

Watching Dark watch the water could only be entertaining for so long, eventually Danny had given up. Deciding instead to think of his family, his family he'd probably never see again. He wondered if they missed him, or if they even bothered to look. _I wonder how much Jazz will tell them. I don't want them to come looking. It'll only put them at risk too. _Then again, it wouldn't be too much of a hassle for Dark to leave and go to them.

The sound of shaking stopped his daydreaming; it sounded like those maracas that art teachers had kids make in second grade- the paper _mâché_ ones filled with macaroni. It was clear to see why when he spotted Dark holding up a box of Kraft, searching it for instructions. _Oh please, has he truly forgotten?_

Hopping down off the stool, he moved over to the stove, knocking Dark away with his hip. Had he not surprised the older man, such a move would not have fazed him at all. "Oh please," Danny said, echoing his own thoughts a moment ago. "Too easy." He tore open the cardboard flap and dumped the contents in to the boiling water, repeating the gesture with the other boxes.

He grabbed a conveniently placed spoon from the counter next to him and gave it a stir. In doing so, the vapors from the boiling water gave off a pleasant soothing smell, and the boy deluded himself into thinking he was in his own kitchen cooking lunch for him, Sam, and Tucker.

Those dreams were unpleasantly interrupted when he felt a large body press up behind him, sending chills raking down his spine. Equally large hands were placed on his hips, a place Dark definitely liked to explore.

His tongue slid over the soft flesh of the boy's neck, making him squeak in protest. Well, it wasn't a very strong campaign. Danny's hand jerked from the action, in turn partly stirring the pasta.

"I couldn't help myself." Dark cooed into his ear. "You just looked so tempting. I can resist all but _temptation_, you know." He seemed to purr the word, but it was all but tempting or seductive.

Flushing at the intimate contact, he stirred the pasta, preventing it from sticking to the bottom of the silver pan. _Oh god, oh god. He's so close. _Danny agitatedly stabbed a noodle with the spoon. It split.

"Uh Dark," Danny began frowning, "It's done." He mumbled, switching off the stove and raising the pan away from the flat burner glowing red with heat.

Stepping back, the phantom allowed room for the boy to reach the sink and drain the noodles into a strainer, conveniently left in the sink, probably because it was dirty from the last time Dark had made pasta, and by the buildup of dishes, Danny had no faith in Dark's ability to perform household chores. Then again, Danny had no faith in his _own_ ability to perform household chores either.

Pouring the steaming noodles back into the pan, he returned to the stove. Dan returned to his position behind Danny, wrapping his arms around the younger man's waist.

"Wha- Stop that! I need to get the butter and stuff." Danny growled, pushing the man back as he backed up.

"As long as you know you're rubbing me in all the right ways right now." Dark smirked, reaching behind himself to get the stick of butter lying on the table from when he pulled it out earlier. He unwrapped the stick of unsalted cream and dropped it into the pan, earning a disapproving glare from the Danny. "What? It needs butter."

"It didn't need a whole stick! The new Kraft only needs a tablespoon or two per box."

"Yeah? The new Kraft sucks. I want my butter, damn it."

Danny sighed and stirred the butter around, watching the heat melt it into little golden pools. "Don't blame me when you get fat. I warned you."

Dark snorted a laugh. "Me fat? Impossible." Grabbing the packets of powdered cheese, he ripped them open at the same time and dumped them into pan as Danny stirred it in. Reaching over, the milk was next to the stove, laying in wait for the man to uncap it and poor it straight into the food, not bothering with a measuring cup.

"There." Danny said, giving it one last stir, tempted to take a bite off the spoon as he did at home, but this wasn't his home and he wasn't about to start treating it as such. "Bowls." Danny said, holding out his hand.

"Bowls?" Dark asked. "Oh, bowls. Crap, I'm not used to needing to use them. Can't we just share the pan?" He considered, grabbing two slightly bent forks from a drawer.

"Yeah, no." The boy narrowed his eyes, opening the dish cabinets until he found some bowls shoved behind more junk food. _I think Dark might actually be _worse_ than be with the junk food; even his dish cabinets have been invaded._

Returning to Dark's side, he snatched the pan away from the man and poured some of the extra cheesy-delicious looking- pasta into his bowl. Placing the pan back on the stove for Dark to get his own or just take it himself, Danny began to sit at the bar counter again- only to be stopped by his older self.

"No, let's eat somewhere else. The bedroom or the living room. Choose."

_Perfect opportunity to survey the area, _Danny thought as Dan smirked to himself. "The living room, I never eat in the bedroom." Then again didn't Dark already know that?

Dan grabbed his wrist and his bowl in the other hand. Danny didn't even see him pour his own bowl; it must've been while he was thinking. He led him out the kitchen arch and down a long hallway with high ceilings.

There were no windows although he couldn't be sure if it was because of Dark's preference, Danny's inconvenience, or just because they were in the ghost zone. Danny couldn't remember ever seeing a building in the ghost zone that had working windows. Not Ghostwriter's house, not the prison, not Clockwork's citadel. _Clockwork! He can help me!_ He realized with a start, although not quite sure if it was in the ghost's mind to help him.

Dark gave the boy a nudge, and Danny realized he had stopped moving in his thoughts. The nudge pushed him straight through a stone archway into a large white living room. The couches were white; the floor was a plushy white carpet. It was an almost nice contrast to the rest of the Phantom's black house.

Looking back out into the hallway, Danny realized they walked an awfully long way in such a short amount of time, and the living room was a dead end. To get anywhere, he'd have to go back towards the kitchen.

Grumbling, Danny was steered towards the couch in front of a giant plasma screen television. Before he had a chance to take a reluctant seat in a small corner of the circular bending couch, Dan was sprawled out on top of it, pulling the younger man onto his lap.

He indignantly squealed as he tried not to drop his food on the pale perfect carpet.

Dark snickered at the noise, making Danny flush with anger and embarrassment. He paled as he realized he was sitting directly on top of Dark's crotch. He distinctly noticed a bump, and suddenly his food didn't look as appetizing, but he forced a few bites which were leaking cheese from the excess milk down as to not provoke Dan's taunts.

Danny's bowl was resting in his lap while Dark had taken his bowl and with nowhere else to place it, let it rest on the boy's white hair, one hand steadying it while the other was free to shovel food via the fork.

"Do you mind?" Danny growled through a bite of macaroni.

"No, I don't." Dark said after swallowing his previous bite, and taking another as the halfa tensed began, "Would you rather I placed it somewhere else and left my hand free to wander?"

Danny said nothing to this, allowing the phantom to continue eating. Dark, too, said nothing, instead, flipping on the television using the remote resting on the glass coffee table.

They ate in silence, content with watching some children's show about a boy who received fairy god parents; he thought the idea was dumb, but then again he figured if his life was a children's show it'd be dumb too; it probably wouldn't even have any fans.

_How popular could a show about a fourteen-year-old loser who got ghost powers through a freak explosion be anyway?_ Danny chuckled inwardly, swallowing more food as Dark chuckled at the funny moments. It surprised Danny that the ghost still found things like this amusing. Sure, he wasn't laughing hysterically or anything, but the occasional snickers at deeper humor must've meant something, right?

Scraping the last of the cheese out of the bowl, Danny was done, and Dark was finishing up close behind him.

"Well that hit the spot, wouldn't you say?" Danny hm'd in response. "But not the _right_ spot. I know much better spots I could be hitting."

Danny's eyes were wide open. He wasn't quite sure what Dan meant by that, but he was certain it was supposed to be sexual. Dan's hands wandered until they were firmly pressed against Danny's own crotch.

He pushed the palm of his down and rubbed, sending spikes of something up Danny's spine. Fear? Apprehension? Disgust? Pleasure?

_Oh god, he's going to._ Danny panicked as he felt Dark's hand slip into the loose fabric of his pants. His large hand caressed his lower stomach before slipping over the tufts of hair. "No!" Danny screamed out, trying to raise himself away from the man, but with his hand already in his pants, escaping him was near impossible.

"Oh calm down," Dark purred. "It'll feel nice; what are you so afraid of?"

_It feeling nice._

That was the most terrifying thing that could happen. Pain was one thing. Dark could make this all incredibly excruciating for the halfa. Losing his pride was another. It'd be harder to deal with in the long run, but losing it was bound to happen being held up in this prison, but liking it was a different story. Danny could never forgive himself if he let himself feel the pleasure in this.

His hand lingered, twitching down. "Bargain with me. Give me something else in return."

_What can I?_ Anything would be better than letting the ghost near his private regions; he could feel pleasure there, but kissing wouldn't give him pleasure. In fact, it's possible it'd only serve to make him vomit.

"I-I… kiss." Danny mumbled resentfully, earning a smirk from Dark.

"What? I couldn't hear you?" The phantom mocked.

"I'll let you kiss me!" Danny shouted, frustrated with himself and the ghost.

"Let you? I hope you mean you'll actually participate this time, and by participate, I mean _participate_. If you do a good enough job, I won't touch you _there_- at least not _tonight_." Dan bargained, savoring the look of disgust filled defeat on Danny's face.

The boy only briefly nodded.

"Good, I accept your offer. Let's begin, shall we?"


	4. Is That My Ultimate Enemy?

_Here you go~ Enjoy; it's actually the first time I've written something this explicit, so I'd really appreciate a review, and I'd like to know if you guys would like me to put a warning at the beginning of each chapter as I'm about to do now._

_Warning(s): Heavy kissing, Non-con/rape_

_[Sorry if it's too short, but it really contains nothing except what the warnings tell. The real 'plot' starts in the next chapter.]_

"Shirt off," Dark commanded, tugging up the fabric of Danny's shirt earning a yip of protest from the halfa. He smirked to himself.

"No! My shirt doesn't have to be off to kiss someone." Danny growled, hands pulling down his shirt protectively.

The ghost below him smiled; it was really a terrifying sight, not a happy gesture on the man's face. "Well, I suppose if you're shirt doesn't have to be off, then my hand doesn't have to keep away from _here_." Dark said calmly as Danny felt a pressure on his groin; he knew it was the man's hand, and he also knew that only the thin fabric was separating them.

"Okay, okay! Just _stop_." Danny shouted as he pulled his shirt off. "There, you happy?" He asked narrowing his eyes at Dark who he was now laying on top of. It was a strange position, Danny thought. Dark is dominant, but clearly being beneath was submissive.

Almost as if his thoughts were read, Dan wrapped an arm around his younger's waist and flipped them over on the large ebony couch. "Ecstatic." Danny gasped from the sudden weight that was now crushing him into the cushions beneath which Dan used to eagerly steal the boy's mouth with his own.

His tongue slid in the boy's mouth, making him gag, but Danny ignored it pushing his own tongue deeper into the kiss.

Dan growled although it was an angry growl; it sounded like it was filled with approval or pleasure. The wonderful thing about Danny was that he already knew every move that Dan liked. He knew which way to direct his tongue, how deep the other was willing to go. Given, Danny didn't know what Dan was willing to do to _him_.

The boy ran his hands through the heatless flames of Dark's hair, slightly irritated that he couldn't get a sufficient grip on the shifting fire. It made the kiss so much more awkward if he couldn't do something with his hands; all he could do is grip the man's wide shoulders tightly while their tongues battled for dominance.

Of course, Dan's had no trouble winning as he pushed farther into Danny's throat, the feeling of which made the younger boy gag. Dan slowly pulled away from the kiss, sucking Danny's bottom lip as he did so.

"Pretty good, Danny-boy." He held himself inches about the boy's face and grinned. "I'm not quite done though." He murmured, caressing Danny's chest with his hand before sliding it down his stomach tenderly.

Dark moved his head down sucking the base of Danny's neck. He stopped and earned a well surprised mewl of protest from the boy. Meeting his eyes, he smirked, "See how pleasurable it can be when the one performing knows your every_ spot_?"

As if to prove this, he dragged his fangs down from Danny's neck and stopped right before reaching his right nipple. He latched on to the spot, sucking and licking the flesh and before long he had the boy arching up shamefully to the feeling.

Dark pulled away and looked down at his handy work. There would be a mark there for a while, he concluded proudly. Enjoying the fact that he left something on the boy, almost as if claiming him.

"Danny?" Dark began, pulling up the boy's chin to force him to look into his own eyes. Wide blue orbs locked with bitterly different crimson colored ones. "I have to tell you something although you may already know."

"What?" The boy snapped, trying to catch his breath. Dark really _did_ know his spots.

"I'm a liar."

That was the only thing Dan stated before phasing out of his own clothing and reaching down so Danny's pants were easily removed as well.

"Y-you! You said you wouldn't!" Danny gasped, trying to wriggle out from under the man, hopelessly.

"Yes," he waved it off, "but I also just said I'm a liar."

Only two pairs of boxers made of thin material were separating their private regions from touching as Dark smashed his lips against Danny's in a hungry demanding kiss. The boy felt Dan's own member harden and press against his and he dreadfully knew what was about to happen, and he knew he couldn't do a thing to stop it.

He knew Dark was going to try to make him like it.

He knew it was a possibility that he would.

But, he damn well knew he was going to put up a fight to stop it.

He struggled. He kicked, clawed, cursed. Anything to get the man away from him; it only made Dark kiss harder, and along with it, something else got a little harder.

"You might as well enjoy it because I'm not going to stop." Dark smirked, breaking their kiss with a trail of saliva.

"B-bastard!" Danny croaked out as Dark tore the last of his clothes off.

"Hm, I remember those boxers." Dan said, referring to the red and ruined article of clothing he'd just discarded on the floor with their other clothing. "It's probably a good thing I got rid of them; they were getting a bit tight although I suppose they really did show how well endowed we were," he gestured to Daniel's lower regions while the boy flushed a deep red, "at… how old are you? Fifteen?"

Danny could do nothing but glare in anger. He had tried to cover himself, but Dan had quickly prevented that by grabbing his wrists and binding them with ectoplasm.

"This is your first time, I assume." Dark stated ironically. It's only been about a year since their paths had become different, and in that time, Danny had not gotten a serious lover which I suppose was normal at such a young age. Well, he had Sam, but they hadn't actually 'gotten together' as a couple yet, no matter the fact that they both shared mutual feelings of affection. "Good thing I'm experienced, or else this may be uncomfortable, and besides I already know what's going to make you scream in pleasure."

_I hate him. I hate him. I HATE him._ Danny repeated the mantra in his head trying to ignore everything else.

Although it was a little hard to ignore it when he felt a finger slicked with ectoplasm slide into him. He grunted at the strange uncomfortable feeling.

"How does it feel?" Dan asked. "Fuck, you're so tight. This is going to be amazing."

He grunted in response; it didn't hurt yet, but it was uncomfortable, and he wanted the invasive digit out. Dan chuckled and took it as an opportunity to add another finger, stretching him greatly.

The boy hissed in pain. Okay, that finger hurt. "P-please don't."

"Don't?" Dark asked innocently, as if there was anything 'innocent' about him. "Why should I stop?"

_Why should he stop? How about because it's fucking wrong? _Instead, all the boy could manage was, "It hurts."

"Of course it does, Daniel. After all, if it doesn't hurt, I must be doing something wrong. By the way," He leaned in towards Danny's ear and the fingers were gone, "I'm not going to stop."

And with those words, Dark thrust into him hard.

Danny screamed and let out all the curse words he could manage although that discluded any word with more than one syllable.

_Oh my god. It- it. _There were no words he could form for the pain he felt. It was like someone had ripped him open from the inside out. He felt something ooze down his leg, and he could only assume it was blood or ectoplasm. _So much pain_. All this time fighting ghosts and Danny had never experienced anything so mind-numbingly painful.

"Are you not having fun?" Dan asked remaining motionless inside of the tight boy which took an unfathomable amount of will power. He reached down and grasped Danny's own limp member giving it a few quick pumps; Danny's body quickly became responsive and reacted to the pleasure, earning an unintentional moan. "See how easy that was?"

Danny jerked up, trying to get away from the man inside of him, but that was quite impossible and only served to wear Dark's patience thin. He grabbed the boy's legs and propped them up on to his shoulders before using his hands to pin the boy to the sofa and stop his struggling; it's not like he'd be resisting for long anyway.

Losing any resolve the man had, he slowly began to thrust in and out of the boy.

"Get. Out. Of. Me." Danny's words were broken by pants and other odd sounds of not-quite pleasure.

Surprisingly enough to the boy, Dan obeyed completely retracting from inside of him. He smirked and waited a few seconds that felt like an eternity to both of them before he thrust back in, harder than the first time.

Danny's second scream rang out louder than the first time before being broken by harsh sobs.

"Oh don't cry, Danny." The man said stroking his face gently in an out-of-character type of way. "I can make it better." And with the last syllable, it thrust inside the boy at a deep angle which made Danny scream in pleasure.

"W-wha-" Danny began weakly before Dan interrupted him with an answer.

"_That_ is your ultimate enemy, but it can also be your best friend if you allow it to be." He continued to move in and out, hitting that spot every time. Danny's moans were loud and constant, only being raised in frequency when Dark released his hold on the boy's shoulders and tweaked his left nipple.

_Why did that feel so good?_ Danny wondered. He had never bothered to experiment while masturbating; he preferred the straightforward jerk-off using standard magazines or on occasion his own imagination. It never even occurred to him that somewhere else on his body could make him feel this good.

His completely hard member was now throbbing, and the heat was starting to build up. Almost as if on cue, Dan reached down and took it in his hand, pumping it in time with his thrusts.

Danny's body couldn't take the buildup of feelings, and soon enough his body involuntarily arched up and screamed weakly, reaching a release.

He fell back down on to the couch and after a few minutes and a few more thrusts, Dark pushed himself deep inside the boy and came. A short groan and he was done, although hardly winded.

Caressing the boy, he held him close. The man ignored the obvious tears streaming down the boy's face. Not knowing for sure if they were angry, horrified, or sad tears but figuring they were a mixture of all of them, Dan simply held on to him possessively.

Danny prepared himself to say something along the lines of, 'I hate you' to the ghost, but he never got the chance as the rush of emotions, pain, and shock from what had happened devoured him completely and the blackness settled down.

Finally pulling out, a mixture of ectoplasmic blood and semen leaked out of the boy. Dark ignored it and lifted his younger self off the couch.

_Sleep while you can Danny-boy because come tomorrow you're going to enter your own personal hell._


	5. What Would Clockwork Do?

**Oh my god. Is this what I think it is? I think it is. A new chapter! Holy crap, are you excited?**

**Don't be. Seriously, this is the unedited draft. I just really wanted to post this, so I can apologize to you guys. This story might be going on a hiatus for a short while, mainly because the previous chapters need to be edited (as does this one).**

**On a new note, I edited my other important story previously known as "Inevitable" (It got a legal name change and is now known as "The Clockwork of the Universe".) That story is my baby, and I'm hoping it'll grow up into something good. It's Clockwork/Dan, and I just got a new chapter up, so please go read it if you think you might like to. (And if you do, I'd love a review.)**

Danny groaned, rolling over on to his back although he lately realized that was a fairly huge mistake. He _hurt_. Man, he's never hurt this bad before; his entire backside felt like it was on a dull fire. It ached horridly, and the ache made it feel like an inferno.

Peering over, he looked at the alarm clock next to his head. The lithe blazing red digital numbers read '4:32'. Ugh, definitely not time to get up yet.

Wait, where was he?

Danny rolled out of the bed which was much larger than his own at home but not quite as large as the one in _his_ bedroom.

Yeah, it was necessary for Dark to have a He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named status.

The sheets were an off-white color; he definitely was not at home or in his ghostly self's castle which left the question: where was he?

Cautiously pulling himself out of bed, Danny worked his way over to the door, fumbling with the strange lock he opened the door to reveal a long red carpeted hallway with walls lined with a god-awful white floral wallpaper. There were doors lining both sides of said hall and each was numbered. It was clear where he was now.

Danny was in a hotel, possibly Amity's own hotel? He wouldn't know; one never had a reason to stay in the hotel of your own hometown. Sam had a fantasy about staying in it for few nights before and after graduation, but that was far off in their future.

He shut the door gently and heard a click behind him. It was the click of a door opening. Jumping around- much to his body's dismay- he noticed one of those doors that hotel's commonly had to adjoin rooms. If not cautiously, he slowly and gently made his way to the other door and unlocked it.

Pulling the door towards him a few inches at a time, he stood face to face with another door albeit there was a small stream of light reaching in, indicating that the door was slightly ajar.

What to do? The only plausible option would be to push it open, right?

Right.

Danny pushed open the door and stepped through, being careful to leave his door wide-open on the other side.

It was one of those hotel rooms that had everything, a full kitchen connected to a half-dining room, a small living room and a bed nestled into the corner with a nightstand and a generic lamp. There was a door next leading to the bathroom on an angle to the 'front door'.

Jazz looked up from where she sit at the table, head buried in a book scribbling something intently. "Danny! Oh my god, what happened to you?" She gushed out, anxious and upset. "When you didn't come out and the house reduced to rubble and ash- oh god!"

"Mom was screaming; Danny, it was horrible."

"It's okay, Jazz. I'm alright. I'm fine. I'm me." Danny said, although mainly to himself. "Are mom and dad okay?"

Jazz nodded. "We're fine; I convinced them to go to bed. You were gone a whole day, little brother. You can imagine how frantic they were when we found you."

Any hopes of this all being a psychotic fucked-up nightmare were all crushed by this point; Danny ran a hand through his hair, all the while standing there awkwardly. "Where exactly did you find me?"

Jazz shut her book abruptly, trapping the papers she was working on effectively inside. "Outside of what remains of Fenton Works. I really don't like to rush you Danny, but I want you to tell me what happened. Last I saw you, you were frantically panicking about Dark. Then, poof, you disappear for a whole day which is so unlike you."

"I don't really remember, Jazz. Inhaling the smoke must've gotten to me." _Brilliant, Danny, 'inhaling the smoke'? Ghosts don't breathe genius._

"You don't have to tell me anything, but I'm here for you when you're ready." Sometimes he really missed the old obnoxious tag-along Jazz, at least then he didn't have to feel bad about not keeping her in the loop.

Change the subject. "So what're you working on?"

"Some homework. With everything that's happened recently I didn't have a chance to finish it." Ah man, he hadn't even started his homework; it's not like Dark had picked it up for him. In fact, I bet the fire did a nice job destroying it. _I wonder if that's a valid excuse for not doing it. Knowing Lancer, probably not._

"Can you believe I'm graduating this year? Then it's off to Yale. I just can't believe it."

"Yeah." After what's happened to him recently, he could begin to believe anything. "You know what Jazz? I need to leave; I'll be back in time for school."

Jazz stood up. "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere!" He exclaimed. "Jazz, please. I just need to leave."

"Okay, I'll cover for you if mom and dad wake up, but don't worry about school. Taking a few days off won't kill you; I'll pick up your make-up work from Lancer."

That idea didn't sound appealing actually. "No! I just want to get back to my normal life… or at least as normal as possible. Ugh, I really have to go."

Danny spun on his heels and quickly exited the room through the door. No one was awake he assumed, so he was careful to be quiet.

He didn't even care when Jazz followed him out, calling after him. He was gone, flying off towards home… or at least what was left of it.

Soaring up above Axion labs, it was still a dark blue black color outside, but a lighter color near the horizon threatened the rise of the sun soon. It was beautiful as the air was crisp and plentiful, and it was Danny's favorite time of day.

It almost took the depression after seeing his home reduced to nothings in front of him. He'd grown up in this house, and now it was just gone. Just like that. Even the Ops center was gone which was certainly strange. It may not have been hurricane proofed, but it certainly had some defense against fire, but no remains of it were there at all.

Hoping that the basement survived the attack, he intangibly dived through the rubble and down into the calm blue depths of the lab.

Danny let out a sigh of relief. The lab was fine. A few beams were falling, things were destroyed, and everything was coated in a layer of ash, but it was still there nonetheless.

It was such a joy to see the portal intact. Still sitting there, waiting to be opened. He could only oblige to its wish.

Walking over to hit the 'release' button, a sharp series of beeps alerted Danny to whole different matter to be dealt with. The ecto-filtrater needed to be changed.

Sighing, he resigned himself to the task although it wasn't like another explosion would do that much more damage around here… and there we go. The job was over quickly as he'd done it enough times to complete it blindfolded successfully.

Meter now safely in the green, he hit the release button and flew into the Ghost Zone to the one place where he could seek comfort: Clockwork's lair.

Flying through the ghost zone sky, there was an obvious difference to the one in Amity Park he loved so much. Here the sky was always green and shrouded in darkness; it never really changed.

The ghost activity was minimal making traveling much faster. It made Danny wonder: were the ghosts all still asleep, or were they all heading to bed?

A good chunk of time now used up, Danny finally made it. The citadel loomed over him; normally one would be frightened, but it was the most welcoming thing he'd seen recently because the inside promised him Clockwork, the calm intelligent if not a bit sarcastic ghost of time.

"Clockwork?" He called out cautiously while entering the ghostly building. "You home?"

"Daniel, when am I not here?" Clockwork called out to him. There he was floating by the looking portal in his child form and for once, dare he think it, Clockwork looked nervous or just generally upset.

Cutting straight to the chase, Danny hovered a few feet in front of the ghost and whispered as if others were listening, "He got out."

"I know, Danny." Clockwork said back, obviously seeing no need to whisper.

"How, Clockwork? Why did you let that happen?" His voice took on a higher octave, something which stress does to him. It didn't even occur to the boy how general 'that' was of a pronoun; maybe he didn't even know what 'that' referred to.

The time master looked back at him, and Danny noticed that the ghost _was_ truly nervous. "You see, there are some things that even _I_ cannot predict or control. The first being things that exist outside of time."

Danny thought he knew where this was going. "And he exists outside of time ever since I destroyed his timeline."

"Exactly." The child figure in front of him nodded before aging to his adult form. "If it's any victory prize, he's not out for blood although I really doubt it's as such."

_No._ "Not for mine, at least." _He's not._

Clockwork nodded hesitantly. This conversation was starting to get awkward for the both of them. "I may not be able to see his decisions and their future results, but I am not completely sight-less in this situation."

The look he then gave Danny was one filled with something that appeared to be remorse… or pity.

_He knows?_

"You… know; don't you?"

Another nod. "Yes, but to answer your question, no; I will not permit you to travel back in time." Well, this conversation was beginning to feel one-sided. "It's not possible to stop this from occurring."

_You've got to be shitting me._ "Not possible?" Danny echoed in confusion. "This isn't just about me, Clockwork! This is about everyone: Mom, dad, Jazz, Tucker, Sam! They're in danger too. Even you! What if I lose them? What if I lose you?"

"I'm not helpless; losing the majority of my sight concerning you and Phantom is troubling and inconvenient, but I can still handle myself. You need not worry about me."

_Wait. Rewind, rewind._ "Me? You can't see into my future anymore?" Danny asked. That didn't make any sense; he was still part of the timeline, unlike his other self.

The other ghost ignored him and continued his own speaking. "Worry about yourself and your family."

"Oh Clockwork, what do I do?" Danny asked desperately. How he wanted to go on with his life, how he wanted to pretend this was all a bad dream- a tasteless joke preformed by Nocturne. He could even pretend that was possible, if it wasn't for the fact Nocturne had no idea Danny even had an evil self.

"I wish I could answer that."

Danny chuckled. "And I wish Desiree was here."

Clockwork smiled and almost seemed as if he'd laugh if they weren't under such dire circumstances, and quickly the smile was gone replaced with a small frown. Danny was a good kid. Even in this situation, he was still thinking of his family and friends; hell, he was even concerned for _Clockwork_ who should've been the least of his worries.

"Daniel," Clockwork began, but instead of continuing his train of thought glanced over to the elaborate door.

The ghost boy followed his gaze. He didn't know why, but he could picture Dark standing there, leaning against the frame of the doorway, a cocky smirk creeping its way onto his face. The man need not even be looking at them, but instead just standing there… waiting- like a man would wait for the bus to show up, or a man impatiently waiting for his girlfriend to stop chatting with her friends.

It was eerie, and Danny suddenly felt watched as if he couldn't go anywhere without being seen or followed.

"I can only get glimpses of your timeline now; I can attempt to see more, but I'll have you know it's dangerous." Clockwork explained carefully.

"Dangerous how? As in you'll interfere with another timeline or something?" Danny asked.

Clockwork shook his head. "More like, I could cease to exist- destroyed permanently. I don't want to worry you as that's only the worst case scenario. It's more likely I'd end up ruining what's left of my knowledge of your future or there's the possibility of blocking my sight into other timelines, but those chances are slim. It's important to remember that they're not impossible- but slim nonetheless."

"I don't like the sound of any of that."

"I knew you wouldn't."

Danny smiled childishly and hopefully as if the two were the same thing. "Because you could see it?"

"No," Clockwork smirked back. "Because I know you."

"Shuddup, you Know-It-All." Danny chuckled.

"Of course I am, I am after all the master of time, Danny, and speaking of time, you're going to be late for school."

Danny grabbed Clockwork's wrist, shocking the man. The watch read: '6:42'. He'd so never make it in time. "Ack! I have to go! I'll see you later, Clockwork; I promise."

He zoomed towards the exit, speeding up once he hit the place he imagined Dark to be standing. He slowed to a stop and called back towards the man who was still standing there. "Thank you! I mean it."

"I know you do." Clockwork whispered to himself, and it was true; he did mean it.

**I know what you're thinking. No Dan? *gets ready to throw bricks***

**Before you kill me, 1) think about who will be writing this after I'm dead. That's right: No one. 2) So he wasn't in it… Maybe he was? I don't know. You tell me.**

**I was going to write more for this chapter but just couldn't. (On the bright side, I know what happens in the next chapter- and you don't. *dodges bricks*)**

**In a different note, I haven't written anything fluffy! I want to. I don't know what to write (for any pairing really, I don't care). Someone solve my dilemma. (God knows I need my fluff after working on this thing.)**


	6. A Red Hunting Hat

**Chapter Six: **_A Red Hunting Hat._

**There's something I've been meaning to clarify. Dan is still known as 'Dan' in this story, but to Danny he's only known as 'Dark'- a name which he'd invented on his own. This will come up later in the story, but for now, I sometimes accidently use 'Dan' instead of 'Dark' while he and Danny are interacting. This is unintentional. Sorry if I confused anyone.**

**As for this, I have to work on the next chapter of The Clockwork of the Universe and edit these previous chapters. Plus I'm going to start to get busy this next few weeks, so my story updates will be particularly slow (especially since I'm going to switch back into drawing for a little bit).**

**Warning(s): **_Creeper!Dan (although that's a warning for this entire story I'm afraid) and possible spoilers for The Catcher in the Rye. (There'll be some more of those in later chapters as well. Nothing major. I promise.)_

Danny was gone from his citadel; he was going to be late for school, but that didn't mean Clockwork was completely alone in his dark lonesome abode. After all, he had a- for the most part- _unwelcome_ guest now.

"I know you're there, Dan."

The ghost leaning against the arch dropped his invisibility. Same blue/green skin, same condescending red eyes, same flaming white hair: there was no mistaken the man standing there was in fact Dark Dan Phantom. "Heh, I guess I still can't fool you, Clockwork?"

Clockwork narrowed his eyes cautiously yet remained motionless, only watching the other ghost. "No, you can't."

"Well, at least... Not yet." Dan smirked and Clockwork frowned. "You see, I caught most of that conversation with Danny-boy, and it seems I have the upper hand in this situation." He ran his hand briefly through the fire of his hair.

"Not for long."

"Ah you see, I'm disinclined to believe that. You're not the almighty being in this situation," the Phantom leaned in close to the time master's ear. "And you never will be. Don't ever forget that, _Clocky._"

"Three steps back, Daniel; Even without my future sight, I'm still strong enough to take you on. Maybe _you're_ the one who shouldn't be forgetting that." Clockwork warned, his voice taking on a slightly more hostile tone.

Dan haughtily smirked yet obliged the order, taking three small steps backwards. He could play the game just as well as anyone, especially when in the long run he knew he was going to be the victor. They glared at each other upon realizing how close they were still standing together.

"Now, I want you to listen carefully. You're to leave Danny alone."

Dan raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Do you plan on stopping me?" His eyes definitely displayed amusement at the thought.

"No," Clockwork declined. "I'm not going to do anything. In this situation, it's best I wait it out and see how the time will flow on its own, but if you give me one incentive and one opportunity to do otherwise, I will make sure that, in comparison, the very idea of the thermos will seem like a paradise to you."

"Oh, I'm _so_ scared. Heh, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous." Dan reached out and put a hand on to the other ghost's cheek. "Well, Danny _is_ gorgeous; I'm sure you noticed... but you're not too bad yourself." He smirked, fangs showing in their entirety. "When I'm done with him... maybe. I'm sure you wouldn't mind, eh, Clock?"

Clockwork raised a gloved hand and slapped Dan's own hand away from his face. "Get out."

Dan smirk only grew as he stepped backwards and turned on his heel to leave. "You're right. I'm going to be late, wouldn't want Danny-boy to be lured into a false sense of security or any such nonsense." He nonchalantly waved him off. "I'll be back, Clockwork."

"I won't be waiting." Clockwork resisted the urge to strike the man while his back was turned. He just needed to wait this out. After all, he could do that; he was good at waiting.

"Oh, I'm sure you will be." Dan laughed, flying out of the archway he had been leaning against moments ago. The dark green atmosphere of the Ghost Zone was lightening, if only a bit. That must mean the sun was rising in the human world.

The Phantom wasn't as fast as Danny was- most likely because Danny was lithe where as Dan had inherited Vlad's width-, but if he sped up, he'd be able to make it there on time, if not a little bit late for what he had in store.

"Daniel Fenton, nice of you to join us." Lancer said irately, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sure enough, Danny was late for school, and likewise, _of course_ his first period had to be Lancer, but that was to be expected. Sometimes it felt like Mr. Lancer was his _only_ teacher.

"I'm aware of your current _situation_." He said, still sounding rather bitter. Danny's eyes widened if only slightly. How is that possible? He doesn't even know of Dark's existence. "It's unfortunate that your parents' hobbies led to the loss of your home, but while I may be lenient about your tardiness today, I expect you'll be here bright and early just like every other failure here." Lancer smiled, and Danny suspected he was trying to make a joke or something. "Now, turn in your late work, please and take a seat. We don't have all day." He pointed to the wire basket on his desk. The same one used for turning in papers and tests and- late work.

Danny shrugged and walked to his seat, the one right next to Tucker and in front of Sam. Danny noticed they both wore identical looks of extreme relief and worry.

Lancer sighed at his student's most recent academic failure and continued on with their lesson. He wasn't sure, but he thought their unit was about The Great Gatsby although that could've ended last week. Why couldn't he remember? Danny didn't recall taking the unit test on the novel, so maybe they were still studying it.

"Okay, so you all read the assigned chapters last night, well _most_ of you did. What was-" Lancer continued on with his lesson as if Danny had been there all along.

Tucker leant over towards him. "Man, what happened to you? The whole town heard about the explosion, but when we tried to get in touch with you. You weren't there! It's like you fell off the map or something!"

"Yeah, where have you been, Danny?" Sam asked from behind him.

_Uh-hum. _Lancer cleared his throat, shooting a glare towards the talking teenagers. He was being a bit more slack than usual, but it was obvious he wasn't going to tolerate the talking for much longer. "Like I was saying- does anyone have any ideas on the symbolism of Holden's red hunting hat so far?"

Holden? Maybe they weren't reading The Great Gatsby after all.

"Guys, shh! This is important; we have to pay attention." Danny hurriedly whispered in their general directions before focusing back towards the front of the class. Maybe he could pretend he knew an ounce of what was going on.

A tap on his shoulder made him quickly spin around. He wished they'd just leave him alone already.

Sam's eyes were downcast buried in the book she had pressed against the very edge of her desk. One hand remained invisible to his eyes as it held her orange covered book near her lap; the other black manicured hand lay nonchalantly resting on the top of the desk, loosely holding a neon green mechanical pencil.

It didn't seem like she was the one who just tapped him. It definitely didn't seem like she was waiting for him to turn around.

Danny frowned and turned back around to concentrate on what little notes he was trying to take when he felt a lighter tap on his shoulder. _If this is her idea of a prank-_ He turned around again and noticed Sam was now holding a copy of the book they were supposed to be reading. He took it and shot her a grateful look. 'Thanks,' he mouthed and turned back around once again.

He studied the book cover. It was a burnt orange cover and it's only other notable features were the words 'THE CATCHER IN THE RYE' in large yellow letters. Well that and the author's name beneath it which were likewise written in the oddly capitalized off-yellow color, 'J.D. SALINGER'.

Okay, they were reading The Catcher in the Rye apparently. At least he'd heard it was a good book. Jazz really liked it, at the least. He opened the old cover; a small green sticky note was stuck to the title page. The only thing it said was a page number.

Flipping to the correct page, it was easy to realize it was the page they were supposed to be on. Sam must've written it for me. Danny concluded, finally following along but still not quite understanding what was going on.

"Miss Manson," Mr. Lancer began, "What do _you_ think his hunting hat symbolizes?"

Sam looked up from her book. "Well, I see it as a symbol for his identity and individuality. The hat is eccentric. It basically shows us that Holden desires to be different from everyone else, but at the same time he's extremely self-conscious about it. He usually doesn't wear it around people he knows, and he'll always mention it when he does wear it. The hat mirrors the central conflict, his need for isolation versus his need for companionship."

Lancer's eyes widened. "Very good, Samantha! I'm impressed; I wish other students would be as attentive as you." His eyes darted forward to where Tucker had his eyes directed towards his lap where he was hiding his PDA under his desk. "Tucker!" He barked.

"What?" Tucker's eyes snapped up in shock, pushing the device into the desk out of sight.

"Do you have anything to add to what Miss Manson has just told us?"

Tucker pushed his glasses up from where they were resting slightly beneath the bridge of his nose. "It's a hunting cap, right? Maybe he's hunting for something."

Lancer raised an eyebrow. This day was full of surprises. "You're on to something, Mr. Foley. What was he hunting for?"

Tucker shrugged. "You got me."

"Daniel? Would you like to give it a shot?" Lancer asked and suddenly all eyes were on him.

"Uh," Danny fumbled trying to think of something. "People?" The classroom snickered. Everyone knew Danny didn't do the reading. It was obvious and to be expected, but what made it more amusing is that in a very funny twist of fate, Holden in fact does refer to his hat as a 'people shooting hat'.

Mr. Lancer sighed. "Once we get farther in the novel, Mr. Fenton, I expect an answer out of you." The balding man with a potbelly turned around to scrawl something on the chalkboard.

'_D. Fenton: What is Holden __symbolically__ hunting for?'_

The word 'symbolically' was underlined multiple times.

"Just so you don't forget, I'm going to leave that up there, and I expect no one except Daniel himself to help him come up with an answer." Lancer met eyes with the semi-lethargic boy. "You have until we get to the end of the novel to come to me with an answer. That should be plenty of time."

Class continued on like that, going over the assigned reading. Nothing else really. Luckily Lancer had the sense not to call on him again; Danny had his dose of embarrassment for the day.

Eventually the bell tolled, and they were free to leave. Danny hoped up, grabbing his belongings- including his new book-, shoving them into his backpack, and headed for the door.

"Danny, wait up!" Sam called out, swinging her purple spider backpack over one shoulder and bolted after him.

"Guys, wait for me!" Tucker called. He snuck his brand new PDA into its carrying case and followed them out the door to their lockers which were conveniently next to each other.

Sam opened up her locker and switched a few books. She had biology next period, so switching out her English books would make much more sense.

Danny reached up to open his locker as well, but the door was already ajar. _I probably just forgot to close it._ He took a breath and opened it the rest of the way. Nothing was out of place or missing. _I'm just paranoid. This'll pass; calm down, Danny._

His friends were giving him a strange look; he was acting rather jittery today. "Thanks for the book, Sam. You really saved me back there."

"No problem. I got your note, and there happened to be a spare in the desk." Sam said, shutting her locker door.

"What note?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "The one you passed me asking for a book. Uh, here." She said before digging around in her backpack's pocket and handing him a crumpled up green sticky note.

'_You have a spare book I could borrow? I'm completely lost here. –Danny.'_

"Oh yeah. That note." Danny confirmed, brushing off their suspicions. The note was written in what appeared to be his hand writing, although it looked a bit forced- like it was purposefully _trying_ to be messy.

One thing was for certain, he did not write that note.

He grabbed his textbook for his next class, World History. Tucker was leaning against his locker, playing with his PDA. It looked like a newer version of his last one which technically it was.

"You gonna grab your books for your next class, Tuck?"

"I'm all set. My next class is technology, and I got all the technology I need with this baby right here." He coddled his PDA up against his face as if it were some sort of fluffy animal... like a kitten.

"Whatever you say," Danny chuckled. He was trying to act like everything was normal. He knew something was wrong though. It didn't take a genius to figure out which was a good thing because that was one thing Danny definitely was not.

"Danny," Sam began. Her purple lips were in a small concerned frown. "Don't brush us off. What's going on?"

Danny sighed. Maybe it was best to tell them the truth...or a watered down version of the truth. "From the beginning? Our house blew up- not because of some lab accident or ecto-filtrater explosion- but because I got into a fight with this ghost. Before you ask, you don't know him. I was gone because I had to go take care of him, but in the end, he managed to get away. Now I think he may be lurking around, so if anything strange happens, tell me okay?"

"You know you're rambling, right?" Tucker asked, looking up from his PDA. You could tell Tuck was concerned from the look in his eyes, even though he was still joking around. "Anything we can do to help?"

"No. Just... if you see something, tell me. I can take care of it." Danny tried to reassure them.

Sam scowled. "Danny, we're your friends! We can help if you just tell us more about what's going on!"

Danny was prepared to brush her off again when something bright caught his attention. Peeling off the sticky note, he read it to himself.

'_Bathroom. Freshman Hallway. Now.'_

He paled. It couldn't be. At school of all places? Oh no.

"What's that? A note?" Tucker asked, leaning over to check it out, but before he could read it, Danny crumpled it up and shoved it into his pocket.

"Yeah, just a note I wrote to myself. I, uh, have to go... to class now. The bell's about to ring." Danny gestured to the speaker's above their heads. It really was one of the worst places to have a locker- under the speakers and right next to the band room.

Danny sped off, down the hallway. Luckily, it didn't occur to them that he was going in the opposite direction of his next class.

Tucker and Sam exchanged more worried looks. "Something's up with him." Tucker pointed out.

"No really? I didn't notice anything." Sam said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, he's- you were being sarcastic, weren't you?"

"Sarcasm. Learn it, live it, love it." Sam smiled briefly, knocking Tucker's light red beret off his head and onto the hallway floor.

Danny made it to the bathroom, and before pushing the door open. He took a deep breath 1) because he was nervous and 2) because it was always hard to breathe in the freshman bathroom. Luckily, he knew because of this, no one ever uses it anymore.

Once inside, he let himself become Phantom. It was a bit safer this time, maybe he'd actually have a fighting chance. Glancing around, he looked at the stalls. All the doors were open, no feet. He was alone here. No one was-

_Ack!_

Having bolts of pure electricity coursed through your body is not only painful but also extremely shocking- bad pun intended. It's enough to force a half-ghost back into their human side.

The large hands on his waist spun him around until he was face-to-face with Dark. The flaming haired man smirked, before pressing his lips against Danny's in a surprisingly chaste kiss.

"Morning Danny-boy." Dark smirked. "How was English?"

"Don't you already know?" Danny sneered, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "After all, you were _there_, you bastard. Passing notes to my friends and all."

The ghost frowned, mimicking Danny's crossed armed stance. "They were my friends too once upon a time."

"No!" Danny growled, throwing his arms down in exasperation. "They were never your friends because you are not me." If his powers hadn't been shorted out, his eyes most likely would have been flaring green in anger.

"Oh, calm down." Dark rolled his eyes. Sometimes Danny's temper was amusing, other times it was just irritating. "You know what I think?" He asked, stepping forward to close the distance between them.

"No. What do _you_ think?"

"I think I helped you out. I gave you that book, and I was even _kind_ enough to tell you what page you were supposed to be on." He smirked. "What would you ever do without me?"

Danny frowned, clearly unamused. "I think I could manage. Besides, it was Sam who gave me the book."

"Who do you think put it in her desk? And I know you know who wrote her that note because it obviously wasn't you."

"Whatever. So you got me a freaking book. Who cares?"

"I care." The Phantom growled. "You should be more grateful... What was that saying? 'It's the little things that make life worth living.'"

"Little things from you seem to produce the opposite effect." Danny said while narrowing his eyes.

"Oh ha ha. Aren't you hilarious?" Dark chuckled in a way that made it obvious the joke wasn't funny to him in the least.

"Just cut to the chase. You obviously didn't call me here to have me thank you for some stupid book."

"You're right. I was thinking I'd do something more along the lines of this." Dark pressed his lips against the younger boy's in a less innocent kiss than the previous one. He could feel the warmth in his face and could just barely make out a slight red color on Danny's cheeks. "Oh come now, we fucked last night, and you're embarrassed about a little kiss?"

_Fucked? Is that what he wants to call it? _"I- we- you... you r-," That proved difficult to say out loud. It sounded much better screamed in his head.

The man's smirk was infuriating. He didn't even regret or feel awkward about what he did in the least, but as quickly as the smirk appeared, it disappeared from his face.

The bell had rung.

He sighed and gestured towards the door. "Class is starting. Go before I change my mind."

**I hit the forth page, and the writing went downhill. Sorry about that... and apparently 'unamused' isn't a word. Who knew?**


End file.
